Good books about the moon landings hoax?

[skeptic_UK]

Hi there. I'm new to the forum so please bear with me.

I've always had a passing interest in the moon hoax and do believe it was faked myself. I'd love to read more on the subject though bar what websites have to offer.

Are there any decent books out there which cover the hoax, attempts to debunk the hoax theory or even fiction based on the moon hoax conspiracy.

Look forward to your replies!
Thanks!

[JayUtah]

You may have been misled slightly by the name of the site, which refers to its original owners.  The regular posters here all believe Apollo was real.

There are a number of books available claiming hoaxed Moon landings, but they are all abysmally researched and have absolutely no credibility among space scientists, historians, etc.

The first one was We Never Went to the Moon by Bill Kaysing.  He wrote it in attempt to embarrass the U.S. government over its treatment of Vietnam war veterans.

There is also NASA Mooned America by Ralph Rene.  As I said, abysmally researched.  Rene doesn't know much about space science.

The longest is Dark Moon by David Percy and Mary Bennett.  It covers claims of hoaxed Moon landings and just about every other controversial subject under the sun.

The only book available for debunking is Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait, but he confines his remarks to a single chapter.  This forum is a good resource, but I'll also recommend my web site http://www.clavius.org

[Glom]

Hi there. I'm new to the forum so please bear with me.

I've always had a passing interest in the moon hoax and do believe it was faked myself. I'd love to read more on the subject though bar what websites have to offer.

Are there any decent books out there which cover the hoax, attempts to debunk the hoax theory or even fiction based on the moon hoax conspiracy.

Look forward to your replies!
Thanks!

Passing interest often goes together with mild hoax belief. It can be easy to get hoodwinked by the conspiracy theorists. It's only when you look at it in more depth that full scale of the absurdity becomes apparent.

[Luke Pemberton]

I've always had a passing interest in the moon hoax and do believe it was faked myself. I'd love to read more on the subject though bar what websites have to offer.

I haven't had the oppurtunity to engage in discussion with you, so I won't pass judgement based on your interest in the moon hoax. You are entitled to your view point and opinions, but I believe that the Apollo moon landings were real and they aren't based on opinions but fact.

You're entitled to look into the hoax as much as you want. Ralph Rene's 'NASA Mooned America' has already been suggested, if you Google 'NASA Mooned America PDF' you will find it on line for free. However, I would hate to see anyone part with their money for Ralph's book knowing that the money will line the pockets of a certain individual. Maybe you want to take a look at his website too and his alternative science theories. It gives you some idea of Ralph's caliber as a scientist. He can't be trusted with simple high school physics, let alone the complexities of space science.

[JayUtah]

http://www.clavius.org/Rene-NASA-Mooned-America.pdf , if you must.

[Luckmeister]

Hi skeptic_UK. I suggest you study overviews of the breadth and complexity of the Apollo program. When you begin to grasp the enormity of data/evidence supporting the program success and realize the thousands of scientists, engineers, technicians and project management worldwide who would have had to be in on the hoax, it will be so apparent that the Moon landings actually happened that you won't have to bother scientifically validating everything they did there, although you might very well enjoy that process. It was a wonderful time of invention, innovation, challenge and, of course, raw courage for those who journeyed from Earth.

I worked on space boosters (Atlas and Titan, pre-Apollo) so I had direct experience with some of the important work preceding the first manned flights. It was a wonderful time.

[sts60]

Hi, skeptic_UK.  Welcome to the forum.

As mentioned, there's not much in the way of actual books debunking Apollo "hoax" claims.  At one point, NASA actually was going to pony up $15k towards a book written by engineer and author James Oberg, but it was ridiculed as a waste of money and scuttled.

If you'd like to learn about Project Apollo in context, and in detail, you could do worse than to peruse the wealth of material to be found at the NASA History Office and at the NASA Technical Reports Server.  There is enough material there to keep you occupied until, conservatively speaking, the end of time.  So feel free to ask for guidance on particular topics or themes in which you're interested.

Jay's Clavius site and Bob's Rocket and Space Technology are two excellent and concise sources discussing Apollo hoax claims.   Other members here have produced other hoax-related materials, although I am rather deficient in remembering who's created what.  But please take a look and ask for help finding what you're interested in.  You may also want to peruse threads here and at this site's immediate precursor, the Proboards site, to get an idea of common hoax claims and rebuttals to same.

Personally, I think you'll find this a congenial site if you continue along the open and civil approach with which you began.  The AwE130 thread was a bit of train-wreck as frustration with AwE130's self-important dishonesty boiled over.  Anyway, nice to have you on board and looking forward to a fruitful discussion if you choose to participate.

[LunarOrbit]

I'd skip the books about the hoax theory and instead go for the ones that stick to reality. There is drama, adventure, tragedy, comedy, and knowledge in the true story of Apollo. The truth about Apollo is far more interesting than the trashy hoax theory.

The first book I read about Apollo was Andrew Chaikin's "Man on the Moon", which I highly recommend.

[gillianren]

Hi skeptic_UK. I suggest you study overviews of the breadth and complexity of the Apollo program. When you begin to grasp the enormity of data/evidence supporting the program success and realize the thousands of scientists, engineers, technicians and project management worldwide who would have had to be in on the hoax, it will be so apparent that the Moon landings actually happened that you won't have to bother scientifically validating everything they did there, although you might very well enjoy that process.

Nitpick--if it were actually a hoax, "enormity" would be the right word, as it indicates a great wrongdoing.  However, the issue with Apollo is its enormousness.

[smartcooky]

If you really want to sit down and learn about the truth of the Apollo programme, and would like to be entertained at the same time, try to get a hold of the boxed set of  HBO's 12 part serial "From Earth to the Moon". Co-produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (both Apollo 13), and Michael Bostick, and hosted by Tom Hanks (who played Commander Jim Lovell in Apollo 13).

It tells the story of the Apollo programme in docudrama format. Largely based on the Andrew Chaikin book mentioned by LunarOrbit earlier, this series is known for its accurate telling of the story of Apollo, and its outstanding special effects under visual director Ernest D. Farino.

Still available from Amazon,but shop around as you may be able to get it cheaper

http://www.amazon.com/From-Earth-Moon-Collectors-Edition/dp/0783114222

[gillianren]

My local library has it; you can always check yours.

[Allan F]

There's an excellent series about the technology on youtube - "Moon machines" - telling about the Spacesuit, the booster, the LM, the LRV, navigational systems and computer and many other things.

[raven]

There's an excellent series about the technology on youtube - "Moon machines" - telling about the Spacesuit, the booster, the LM, the LRV, navigational systems and computer and many other things.

Indeed. The narrator is a little dry, but the stories of the people involved are highly engrossing nonetheless.

[onebigmonkey]

You could have a good look at this one

http://www.moonhoaxdebunked.com/?m=1

[Luke Pemberton]

http://www.clavius.org/Rene-NASA-Mooned-America.pdf , if you must.

Hi again skeptic_uk.   Ditto everything after this - Just don't be conned into buying 'NASA Mooned America' when your can read it for free.

As for Bill Kaysing's 'We Never Went to the Moon', this is what his publisher had to say about his manuscript after paying a small advance in exchange for the manuscript. The editor's comments:

I'm afraid we disavow it. You need to read it objectively and critically and perhaps ORGANIZE IT. As it is it wanders all over the landscape. Several interesting paragraphs but they don't hold together, link together. You've also wandered from third to first person. It needs a lot of work. You don't really have a manuscript here - seemed more like random notes about what you WOULD write about if you got around to it. What I mean, it reads like notes to the AUTHOR.

{Upper case are editor's original emphasis, bold added by me.}